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Adair Blain
| birth_place = Inverell, New South Wales | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = Australian | spouse = | party = Independent | relations = | children = | residence = | alma_mater = | occupation = Surveyor | profession = | religion = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} Adair Macalister Blain (21 November 1894 – 28 April 1983) was an Australian politician and soldier. He represented the Division of Northern Territory in the House of Representatives from 1934 to 1949, albeit with limited voting rights. He enlisted in the army during World War II and was captured by the Japanese after the Fall of Singapore, the only serving member of parliament to become a prisoner of war. Early life Born in Inverell, New South Wales, Blain was educated in Perth, Western Australia and the University of Adelaide and worked as a surveyor in Western Australia.ed. Carment, D., Maynard, R. et al. (1990) Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography Vol. 1, Northern Territory University Press: Casuarina. Following the outbreak of World War I, Blain served as a corporal in the 32nd Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force in France from 1916 to 1919,World War I Nominal Roll, http://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/ww1/ Accessed 21 November 2007. during which he was wounded twice. Returning from Europe, Blain worked as a surveyor in Northern Queensland before moving to the Northern Territory in 1929 to become the Darwin area surveyor. Politics Blain's work took him throughout northern Australia, giving him the opportunity to gain a high profile, which he used at the 1934 federal election, when, standing as an independent for the Division of Northern Territory, Blain defeated the incumbent Labor member Harold Nelson. During the 1934 election campaign Blain promised to resign from parliament if the Northern Territory representative was not granted full voting rights in parliament. He reneged on this promise but continued to campaign for greater Territory control of Northern Territory affairs. After changing his year of birth to 1897, Blain enrolled in the Army during World War II and served as a sergeant in the 2/12 Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers (part of the ill-fated 8th Division, AIF) and sent to Malaya.World War II Nominal Roll, http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/ Accessed 21 November 2007. Captured by the Japanese following the Fall of Singapore in 1942, Blain was a Prisoner of War, first in Singapore and later in Sandakan, Borneo, until his release in September 1945.Lumb, M., Bennett, S. et al. (2007) Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war, Research Brief, Australian Government Department of Parliamentary Services. 26 March 2007, no. 10, 2006–07 During his time as a POW in Borneo he was tortured by the Japanese military police for planning to escape and sentenced to eighteen months in prison.Firkins, Peter (1985) "From Hell to Eternity", Panther, London. Blain remains the only serving member of the House of Representatives to have been a Prisoner of War. Blain returned to Australia, and upon re-entering the House, wearing his uniform, was the subject of a standing ovation from his fellow members. He was then ordered to return to hospital where he spent the next two months recovering before returning to parliament.Kemp, R. & Stanton, M. (2004) Speaking for Australia: Parliamentary Speeches that Shaped Our Nation, Allen & Unwin: Sydney. . Although officially an Independent, Blain worked closely with the Country PartySouter, G. (1988) Acts of Parliament: A Narrative History of the Senate and House of Representatives, Melbourne University Press: Melbourne. . and while he was absent on wartime duties, Blain asked the Country Party member for Barker, Archie Cameron to act on his behalf. While serving as a POW, Blain was re-elected unopposed to his Northern Territory seat at the 1943 election, and elected again in 1946 before losing his seat at the 1949 election to Labor challenger Jock Nelson (the son of Harold Nelson, who Blain defeated in 1934). Later life Following his defeat, Blain moved to New South Wales to work as a surveyor. The Northern Territory Electoral division of Blain is named for him. Actor Brian Blain is his nephew. References Category:1894 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Northern Territory Category:Australian Army officers Category:Australian military personnel of World War I Category:Australian military personnel of World War II Category:Australian prisoners of war Category:People educated at Perth Modern School Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Category:20th-century Australian politicians